MOVIES: 'Arrow' actor talks about his favorite Ninja Turtle

Stephen Amell spent his time off from starring as an intense crime fighter on the CW’s “Arrow” to play a perhaps even more intense crime-fighting vigilante Casey Jones in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.”

“Casey Jones is an iconic character,” Amell said of the hockey stick-wielding tough guy. “I’m very excited to play him in the ‘Turtles’ universe.”

The sequel also stars Megan Fox, Laura Linney, Tyler Perry and Will Arnett and has the intrepid Turtles facing off against Shredder and new foes Rocksteady, Bebop and the power-hungry Kraang (voiced by Brad Garrett).

In the new film, we first see Casey as a police officer transporting Shredder to a new prison. After the evil Foot Clan manages to free its leader, Casey goes on the warpath to set things right. Along the way he meets up with the Turtles and April O’Neil (Fox) and unites with them to save New York City and the world.

“Having seen the movie now, I think that we nailed it in terms of a fun ‘Turtles’ movie that people who grew up with the franchise can enjoy, that people discovering the Turtles for the first time can enjoy, and the most fun part is this movie really bases around Shredder wanting revenge. We pick up that thread almost instantly in the film, so there’s really no downtime whatsoever, which is a really cool way to do a movie.”

In the TMNT universe, it is no secret that Casey is a little unbalanced and usually looking for fight. In the film, however, his problematic history is only alluded to, but he comes across as a pretty good guy who just wants to set things right — whatever the cost.

“I definitely identify with the idea that (Casey) was on a path that he thought was the right path for him, and clearly him butting against the system is probably the universe trying to tell him something,” Amell said. “He’s enthusiastic, he’s emotional, he’s doing stuff where he’s thinking with his heart before his head. I think not only can I identify with that, I think everyone can identify with that.”

The character is also known for his love-hate relationship with the Turtle Raphael, but Amell, who watched the live-action films in the early ’90s, is more of a fan of another Turtle.

“Growing up, it was definitely Michelangelo. He was a party dude, he liked the most pizza and I think you’ve got to stick with your favorite when you’re a kid,” Amell said.

Amell has become skilled at learning fights from his time on the set of “Arrow,” so he didn’t have to do anything special to prepare for “Out of the Shadows.” He did all of his own stunts in the film, save one.

“The hardest one to execute was probably my first fight with the Foot Clan. I had this one scene where I have to lean backwards and balance on the hockey stick. That was pretty tough, because I had the entire blind thing and you have to trust the stunt guy that he’s not going to swing into the stick that’s there. It was like a trust fall, but a fight,” Amell said.

One question that Amell gets a lot is this: If Arrow’s Oliver Queen and Casey Jones decided to duke it out, who would win?

“I feel like Oliver is definitely the more seasoned fighter, but Casey Jones is so unpredictable and Oliver’s so logical that Casey would probably catch Oliver a few times,” Amell said.

The actor is definitely on board should he be asked to reprise his Casey role.

“If we do march forward with the ‘Turtles’ franchise, I’d really hope and be honored if Casey Jones was involved, but ultimately time will tell. I’m hoping that this movie has a good response and a good opening and that they’ll be enthusiastic about another ‘Turtles.’ And of course if they do, I’d love to have them ask me to be involved again,” Amell said.

He also wouldn’t turn down the opportunity for an “Arrow” movie, but is devoted to the television series.

“An ‘Arrow’ movie would be successful, it has a built-in fan base, but with how busy we are and what a challenge it is to make the television show I feel like we just need to focus on that right now,” Amell said.

However, Amell is collaborating on a crowd-funded, sci-fi action movie, currently dubbed “Code 8,” with his cousin Robbie Amell and their friend Jeff Chan, which will be shot during the next “Arrow” hiatus.

Throughout it all, Amell maintains his stringent workout schedule and was even willing to share his best tip.

“It’s always best to try new stuff, I mean like you should always mix it up. If you go and establish a basic routine and you never really deviate from it, it’s really tough to make gains, whereas if you go and try something new again, again and again I feel like that usually works out better for you,” Amell said.

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